How farmers who received fake fertiliser can be traced for compensation - MP John Mutunga

The Chairperson of the Agriculture Committee in the National Assembly, John Mutunga, has said that farmers who have purchased counterfeit fertilisers can be traced to be able to receive compensation.

Mutunga was speaking on Daybreak when he said it is possible to trace how much farmers have bought.

“There are NCPB stores across the country and they have opened satellite stores to get nearer to the farmers to reduce the cost of transportation. It is possible to know how much fertiliser has gone to the outlets,” he said. 

He said that for farmers to be eligible for compensation, they must register their purchases at their respective National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) stores where they bought the said fertiliser.

“We do not have the actual figures. Once this fertiliser was removed from the market, the farmers were advised to go to the NCPB outlet where they had bought, register the amount of fertiliser they had used, and return what they have not used,” he said.

“We shall get the figures after farmers report how much they have bought. And it is possible for us to quantify and follow the process of compensation. Have the farmers been adequately compensated?”

His sentiments come after an uproar among farmers over the fake fertiliser sold at NCPB stores which has led to eight KEBS officials being suspended in connection with the fake fertiliser scandal.

The officials were suspended over issuing certification and marks of quality to two companies that have been linked to the sub-standard fertilizer.

The Agriculture Cabinet Secretary (CS), Mithika Linturi, appeared before the National Assembly Departmental Committee on Agriculture and Livestock on Monday.

However, the committee pointed out that he had failed to submit crucial documents needed for the investigation.

CS Linturi asked the committee for more time to come up with the documents addressing the fake fertilizer being distributed as government-subsidized fertiliser.